Tender Touch

This week I'll be using the Motherpeace Tarot created by Karen Vogel and Vicki Noble and published by U.S. Games. As a companion to the deck, I'll be using Noble's book Motherpeace. The other deck I'll be using this week is the Toltec Oracle deck and book set, created by Victor Sanchez and published by Bear & Co. Today's draws are the Six of Discs and Ketsalkoatl:

          The illustration of one woman using healing energy on another made me think of how important gentle, physical touch can be in the human world. Some instances that I know of are:

• Reiki offered to patients in 'chemo chairs' as they let chemicals drip into their bodies.
• The presence of a friend who sits next to another while she anxiously awaits news.
• Tender caresses given to an elderly person, particularly one in a nursing home.
• Giving a hug or holding someone after a great loss (no words needed).
• Rocking a distraught child.

While none of these things make the problem disappear that caused the distress, it is amazing how something as simple as physical contact with a caring individual can help restore our equanimity. Ketsalkoatl - 'feathered serpent' - symbolizes the integration of opposites (in this case, the eagle and the serpent). Consider all the things that create conflict and cause imbalance: the things we cling to and don't want to release and the things we push away and don't want to accept. Perhaps the physical presence of a compassionate person can help us find that integration and balance. Then maybe we can embrace the whole of life instead of just the parts we like.